"It wasn't pretty, that's for sure. Rider must have stood next to a vent, and the DEA agent that was taken out wasn't in the best of shape."
"So," Ethan sidled up close to me, "how long do I get to keep you under surveillance?"
He was so wonderfully warm. "You have me all day."
It was a great day. We told stories about growing up, laughed, and got to know each other better, I think, than our scheduled hike would have allowed. While cooking dinner together, it felt completely natural for him to touch my arm or hand, and I found any excuse I could to put myself in close contact with him.
Later that evening, we found ourselves in my room wrapped up together. It had been a long time since I had been this close to anyone, and while we undressed each other, I could tell he wasn't comfortable with the new bruises or injured arm, but he didn't say anything to ruin the evening.
The evening went by in naked blissfulness. When my phone rang at six-thirty the next morning, I was still wrapped in Ethan's arms and reluctant to move away, but the phone wasn't magically moving to me, and I didn't want to wake him more than I already had.
"Morning." I made it to my feet, but Ethan took my hand and gently pulled me back next to him.
He didn't have to try very hard to get me to stay.
"It's Logan. We're making plans and I needed to check in with you to see how you're doing."
"I'm good. What type of plans?"
"The doc wants to do another checkup."
I groaned but didn't interrupt.
Logan chuckled. "I told him you'd be thrilled about that. As long as everything looks good, this afternoon, we're sending you out with Neil."
It took a little time for that to sink in and I sat up, blinking. "It's Sunday, I wouldn't think it a very big day for clubs or parties."
"It's not, but Neil seems to think you'll have better success if you meet some people today. Tomorrow's the actual event. I'm not thrilled with the idea, but he's right. Think you'll be ready by eight?"
I bargained up giving myself two hours to get ready. "Eight-thirty?"
"I'll grab Rider and we'll meet you at your house. Pack for a few days at least. Neil said he sent you a list."
"Why did Neil send a list?"
"He said we'd get it wrong."
We hung up, and after I had checked the time, I stretched out next to Ethan.
"Morning," Ethan said, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me to him.
My laugh turned out to be more of a giggle, but I was too happy to be embarrassed by it.
"I take it you're back to work today?" Ethan asked.
My emotions were a jumble of excitement and worry coming at me from work and my personal life.
Who knew I would ever have a personal life? "Yeah, I have to get ready."
"Five more minutes?"
"Only five?” I asked.
Ethan nuzzled my ear. “I’ll take every minute I can get.”
Letting out a contented sigh, I leaned back into him, enjoying the comfortable feeling of my bare skin against his. “I wish we could take longer, but I have to pack.”
Ethan leaned up on an elbow, keeping his other arm wrapped around me. "Going out of town?"
I rolled over and looked up at him. "Yeah, it sounds like it'll be for a few days."
"A few days of clubs and parties?"
Seeing unease in his eyes, I tried to keep it light. "You make that sound like a lot more fun than I'm expecting."
He relaxed some and followed me when I rolled out of bed. While getting ready, we found ways to stall and be near each other. Conserving water by showering together failed since we took our time. I was running a brush through wet hair and had my suitcase on my bed when I opened up the list Neil sent.
"I should go," Ethan said, "and get out of your hair."
"Gran would be upset with me if I let you out the door without breakfast. This will only take a minute."
Ethan wrapped his arms around me from behind. "And what would she say about being here for breakfast?"
I scrolled through my email until I found a packing list. "Mostly, she'd say, 'Good for you, make sure he eats before he leaves’."
Ethan laughed and I sunk back into his embrace, enjoying the moment.
"What's that?" Ethan asked.
"Hmm?" I looked down at my phone, and my face turned red. "What the...?" I stepped away and read the list. The least embarrassing thing on there was the skirt that hugged the right places.
Fumbling with my phone, I began pacing and forwarded the list to Taylor, asking him if this was some sort of joke.
The reply was faster than I expected but slower than I hoped. Sorry. Jeans, T-shirt, sneakers. Nothing new.
Sighing with relief, I looked up and found Ethan leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
He wore a smile, but it didn't look natural. "Anything I should be worried about?"
"No. Someone has the sense of humor of a twelve-year-old." I handed him my phone, with Taylor's text showing, and went to my closet.
"Doesn't sound like the usual work attire." He sounded better than he had looked.
I raised my voice while I rummaged around my closet. "Actually, besides the shoes, it's pretty much all I wore last fall. This is more to blend in with the crowd, though."
"I hate to see what list your partners were sent. The word ‘chaps’ comes to mind."
I stepped out of my closet to see Ethan, and he looked like he was trying not to laugh.
"Logan is very into Westerns," I warned. "Don't mention chaps, spurs, boots, or Stetsons, or I may be facing them on a daily basis."
Ethan chuckled, and I returned to my closet and chose a few items. I threw them on top of my suitcase and returned for more. Once I had a handful of clothes and everything I might need from the bathroom, it was a huge mess.
I turned my back on the mayhem. "Let's go get breakfast."
He looked at the case and back to me, then back to the case again. "Not great at packing, are you?"
"What are you talking about?" I escorted him out of the room to get breakfast. "I was finished in three, maybe four minutes."
"Yeah, I think that's part of my point." Ethan pulled me in for a kiss. "I'm going to make breakfast. You, go upstairs and pack."
"It's-"
"Upstairs." He kissed me again before turning me around and nudging me towards my room.
Mentally, I ran down a list of everything I might need for four days, folded everything neatly, and met Ethan back down in the kitchen where eggs and toast were waiting.
Even better, there was coffee.
"I'm really happy you came over last night," I said.
"Yesterday morning," Ethan corrected, "and so am I. Give me a call tonight after work, and let me know when you might be free again."
"Believe me, I really wish I could, but I'm not sure what our plans are. I'm pretty sure I won't have access to my cell phone for a few days. Let me see your phone." He handed it over, and I opened the contacts list. "I promise I'm not being nosy." I grinned at him, inwardly thankful that he didn't seem worried. "I'll make sure you have Logan's number and Rider's though. In case..." I stumbled over my words while handing his phone back to him. "Well, in case you need to get through to me."
"They get to keep their phones?" Ethan asked.
I bought some time to think it over while getting more coffee. "Lieutenant Parker, I’m thinking that you must be very good at your job with the questions that you ask."
"It's a habit. If you can't say anything, though, I understand."
"Parts of it probably won't matter if I talk about them." I drummed my fingers on the counter and stirred the sugar into my coffee. "As long as you don't tell anyone else. From what I hear, cops gossip more than I suspected."
"My lips are sealed."
"I'm going to be going into places without Logan and Rider."
"The clubs and parties?" Ethan asked with his eyebrows raised.
"I probably shouldn't have menti
oned that part, but yes."
"And your partners are not going with you because..."
"Logan has talked to some suspects. It's too risky for him to be anywhere pretending to be anyone else. And Rider... well, he stands out. We need to blend in."
Ethan looked like he was thinking over his words carefully. "You'll be alone?"
"No, someone else will be with me, but Logan and Rider won't be far away either."
"You'll be wired?" He looked troubled about the wire as much as the rest.
"I'm not sure what the plan is yet, but I'm not going anywhere, or doing anything that will cause someone to want to check me close enough to notice, even if they strap a tape recorder to my back."
Ethan looked tense.
I put my hand on his leg and softened my voice. "You're thinking too far in the wrong direction again. I'm not going in, guns blazing, ready to make some big arrest. I'm slipping in, seeing a few faces, and walking back out again."
He tugged gently on my arm, and I moved over and sat on his lap.
"No arrests?" he asked.
"None."
"You won't be alone?"
Neil counts, right? "Someone has my back."
"Am I worrying too much?"
"Always."
"Am I being overbearing?"
"Completely tyrannical."
We were both smiling through our kiss.
***
Heather Dean Wills was escaping an abusive relationship and hiding out in the city. Considering the mass of bruises and cuts that I had collected over the past week, it was a good cover. She was smart but went down the wrong trail early in life. Heather had no real friends in the community beyond her adopted cousin Neil, and she was one of those people that could really thrive if the world would stop kicking her down.
Neil couldn't say why that was important, but he insisted the data pointed in that direction. I would be able to slide into his circle because I was an occasional druggie with the track marks to prove it.
It's a good thing I'd had so much blood drawn in the past year.
If I thought too long about who I was and what I was doing, I'd only make myself nervous, and I didn't need to be. I should be able to read the Path's and follow this thing back in no time. I had a werewolf and an elf backing me up, not to mention MyTH. Besides, there was a tingle of excitement to the whole thing, and I wasn't backing away.
I think getting Neil's buy-in was hard. I'm not sure what type of threats or bargains Taylor made, but in the end, Neil had agreed to bring me into the world of drugs and dealers.
When we were introduced to Neil, Logan tried to call the whole thing off. Neil was stoned, and he didn't care if I was going with him or not. This didn't instill me with a lot of confidence, but I couldn't sit around and wait for new evidence to fall into our laps.
By two-thirty, Neil and I were out the door, meeting up with a few of his friends. Given the fact that Neil was glassy eyed, I got behind the wheel. He wasn't talkative, which didn't make for the best company.
An hour later, we were walking up the stairs to a second-floor condo. The exterior of the building was meticulous, luxury cars littered the parking lot, and I felt horribly out of place in jeans and a T-shirt.
"What are we doing here?" I hissed before we reached the door.
"Chill, man. You've got to, like, relax."
"If you're screwing around again, I swear I'm going to make you regret it."
"This is the place to be. You've got to, like, throw out your stereotypes and prejudices. Besides, I don't want to screw this up any more than you do." He sounded much soberer during his last statement.
Before I could say anything else, he was knocking on the door.
My mouth almost gapped when the door opened, and I was introduced to Pat. She was a tall, beautiful African-American woman that was as meticulously put together as the decor.
If I hadn't been nervous before, I was now. Then a strange thing happened, after about twenty minutes of Pat being standoffish, towards me, I began to fit in. At first, I didn't notice it, but Neil stealthily led the conversation to highlight everything about Heather that Pat might relate to in some way. The abusive relationship cover story came in handy, and I wondered if it had been hand tailored for Pat. As far as Pat was concerned, Heather was she, two years ago, and she couldn't wait to give me advice.
A few hours later, I found myself in Pat's BMW, with Neil in the backseat. She made a stop and left the car running in front of a house.
"Want anything?" she asked as she got out.
Neil stretched out in the back seat and laid down. "Nothing hard, man. That shit can hold off until tomorrow night."
"You're going to the party?" Pat sounded surprised.
"I'm like, hosting my cousin. It’s the only way to make sure we get the best."
"Do they know Heather's coming?" Pat asked.
"Oh man,” Neil said. “You think that will be a problem."
"Who knew someone so smart could be so dumb. Don't worry Heather, I've got you." Pat winked at me and went in.
"You're in." Neil sounded almost sad.
"Already?" I asked.
"Pat is a VIP wherever she goes."
"She's pretty cool."
"Yeah man, she's great. Too bad works involved now."
"I'm not sure why you're in any of this, but I'll try not to mess it up."
"Oh man." Neil sprang up in the seat. "You were like, awesome. I couldn't even believe the shit you all were talking about. You were totally Heather."
"Thanks, I think I'll take that as a compliment. We've got company," I added, seeing Pat come out with someone else.
"Oh, yeah, that's short dude."
No one introduced our new passenger when he got into the car, so I only knew him by the name Neil gave him. Since I wasn’t going to call anyone short dude, I avoided using the name completely.
On our way back to Pat's, my role as Heather led me into the metaphysical. It wasn't part of my cover, but I stuck my foot into it and had to incorporate the mystical. Pat drove us past a strip mall, and I spotted a neon sign lit up in the shape of a hand with an open eye in the palm.
"It's a Palm Reader!" I was so excited that I almost forgot I was Heather. "We have to stop."
"Dude, not cool," Neil muttered from the back seat.
Chapter 19
"Is that like a psychic?" Pat asked.
"Yeah." Feeling embarrassed, I looked out the window.
"You believe in all that fortune telling stuff?"
Thinking of Gran, I grinned. "It's fun."
"I knew there was a reason I liked you." Pat turned into a parking lot and turned the car around. "Let's go."
Neil leaned forward from the backseat. "Really?"
"Hell yeah. Sit back, smart boy, some things can't be explained."
"Huh." Neil slumped back in his seat.
"Most of these people can't predict that you shouldn't walk down Defoe Street in the middle of the night, never mind that the cops don't even go there until morning. But every now and again, you find someone that knows their shit. You boys wait outside." Pat jumped out of the car.
I noticed Neil's face when I closed the door, and he looked like he was mentally trying to solve a hard problem, so I left him to it.
The brightness of the day was cut off when we stepped inside, along with the traffic being hushed in the dimly lit room. The walls were lined with scrolls of parchment in other languages, detailed drawings of a person’s hand, and pictures or mirrors covered with black fabric. Scattered around were relics, old pottery, statues, and candlestick holders. I recognized a statue of Shiva and one of Buddha, but the rest were lost on me. The only items that looked new were cluttered around the front counter. Miniature Buddhas stared at me from by the cash register. Pat was as excited about seeing the palm reader as I was by the time we were greeted.
The woman that approached us was wearing a green sari. She wore jewelry in her hair, thin golden ropes leading to small j
eweled medallions. It set off the golden tones of her skin and looked beautiful nestled into her dark hair. Her voice was lightly accented.
"Good afternoon, my friends, my name is Fatima Jain. May I assist you today by showing you what awaits you in the future?"
"This is exciting! Yes, we both want to know what's coming," Pat said.
"One at a time, please, unless this is a group or couple reading." Fatima lifted a curtain to a small room off the main store. "The inner eye gets clouded when there are too many people."
"You first." Pat nudged me towards the door, and when the curtain dropped, an enchanted ambiance greeted me.
Fatima lit a candle, a bright beacon, and she asked me to put a hand down next to it. As I sat down, butterflies flapped in my stomach. What was Gran expecting me to see here?
"Fortune telling is a gift brought to us from India." Fatima's voice became more heavily accented. "The gift spread throughout Asia before moving to the western world. In reading the lines on your palm, we see the past, present, and future. We see the mingling of these states and how they affect one another.
"There are those who would tell you that palmistry can be learned. That its secrets can be unlocked from a book or words from another. This is untrue. True palmistry is a gift from the gods. Those who are ordained to possess these gifts must dedicate themselves to the path, or forever walk the realms of uncertainty."
"What does that mean exactly, dedicate yourself?" My voice came out lower than intended in the dim room.
Fatima smiled at me. "No matter what lies in your fate or mine, in the past, or present, it is my duty to help those that seek to peer into their futures and speak the truth."
My arms broke out in gooseflesh as I laid down my palm next to the candle.
"We will start with the Heart Line. Relationships in the past, present, and future." Fatima traced a line through my palm. "I see here that you were love in the past, but it ended in pain. It is important not to let that pain guide you into your future. You have held it close to you in the past, which has caused you to miss out on new relationships. It appears that presently, you are trying to shed some of that past pain. You have several prospective relationships moving towards the future. If you allow your past strife to continue forward, you will choose poorly."
AIR Series Box Set Page 48
